Marie-Louise Carven born Carmen de Tommaso, was a French fashion designer who founded the house of Carven in 1945. She was noted for her designs for petite women, her use of lightweight fabrics such as lace and pink gingham, and for being one of the first couturieres to launch a prêt-à-porter line.

n 1945, at the age of 34, Carven opened her fashion house on the Champs-Élysées. The name Carven combined Carmen, her given name, with the last name of her aunt Josy Boyriven, who introduced her to couture.

The 5'1" Carven focused her line on petite women, "because [she] was too short to wear the creations of the top couturiers, who only ever showed their designs on towering girls." Carven soon became known as "the smallest of big couturiers."